
Qass. 
Book_ 



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SERMON 

AT THE INTERMENT of 

GOVERNOR SUMNER. 




I SERMON 

I PREACHED JUNE 12, 1799? 

f BEFORE 
% 

\ His Honor MOSES GILL, Efquire, 

I 

I LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR AND COMMANDER 

I IN CHIEF J 

I 



I The Honorable the COUNCIL, SENATE and 
HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES, 



OF THE 

Commontuealti^ of S©a(rac^ufettS3 ,, 

AT THE INTERMENT of 

HtS EXCELLENCY 

INCREASE SUMNER, esci, 

WHO DIED JUNE 7, 1 799, ^t. 53. 
Br PETER tHACHER, D. D. 




f Printed by Young 53* Minns, Printers to the Goveroment of f 

W MASSACHUSETTS. ffi 






COMMONWEALTH of MASSACHUSETTS. 

/« Senate, >ntf 13» 1799: 

ORDERED, That the Hon. John Treadwell, Efq. 
with fuch as the Honorable Houfe may join, be a 
Committee to wait on the Rev. Dr. Thacher, and thank him 
for the Sermon preached by him, at the requeft of the two 
Houfes, at the Funeral of His (late) Excellency INCRbAbJ!* 
SUMNER, and to requeft a Copy thereof for the Prels. 
Sent down for Concurrence, 
JOHN C. JONES, Preftdent pro tern. 



'n the House of Representatives, >f/3» i799- 
and Concurred, and Mr. Fessenden, and Mr. Smith of 
Bopn, are joined. ^^^^ ^^ RQBBINS, Speakr, 



h 
Resd an 



5C<>C>OC<C><>OOCC<><XX>C<>CK>OC<X>C^ 



iAA.A.A.je^ 



SERMON. 



kft®®®®^-:^'-®®®®®** 



I. SAMUEL, XXV. I. 

And SAMUEL died, and all rHE Israelites 

WERE GA'tHERED TOGETHER, AND LAMENTED HIM.^ 
AND BURIED HIM AT HIS HOUSE IN RaMAH. 



T 



H E frailty of human life ; the vanity of 
human greatnefs ; and the uncertain nature of all 
human events, are now prefented to us in a light the 
moft ftriking. The fable urn before us contains all 
that was mortal of one of the moll amiable and ex- 
cellent of men ; a man who was happy in his family, 
warmly beloved by his friends, and elevated by the 
free fuffrages of his fellow citizens to the higheil fta- 
tion which it was in their power to beftow ! In the 
midft of his days ; while the honors of the world 
crowded thickly upon him ; and while we hoped that 
he might be ufeful and happy for many years to 
come J Death, with inexorable hand, has feized him ; 
his fun has gone down at noon j and we are now af- 
fembled to pay our laft refpeds to his remains, to 
confign them, with decent folemnity, to the tomb 

where 



VI» 

^here they Ihall moulder into dud, and arifc no 
more " till the trumpet fhall found, and the dead 
ihailberaifed!'* 

To alTill us in improving this melancholy provi- 
dence^ is the defign of the following difcourfe. And 
how could we more naturally introduce it than by 
the account of the death and funeral of Samuel, 
who was long the Chief Magiftrate of y'rael, who 
travelled for many years through the nation to dif- 
penfe judgment and jUflice, who maintained a fair 
and honorable reputation to the end of life ; and 
who, when he died, was attended to the grave by the 
heads of the tribes of Ifrael with deep and fmcere 
regret ? 

Such a teftimony in favor of any mail, and fuch 
univerfal forrow when he is taken away from life, 
are ftronger evidences of his real virtue than any 
which the poetic page, or the fculptured marble can 
produce. We do not lament the ufelefs or the wick* 
ed. We do not mourn for thofe whom we did not 
efteem and love. A whole community is never in- 
volvedin woe and fadnefs, unlels it has loft a friend, 
a benefaftor, and a ufeful fervant. And thus, the 
tears of the public embalm the memory of a wife 
and virtuous Ruler. They will tranfmit his name 
with honor to poflerity in the annals of his country. 

Samuel does not appear to have poflefled the 
fire of imagination and brilliancy of genius which too 
often aftonifh and delude the world. He was not 

a conqueror 



vn. 

a conqueror who extended by arms the dominions 
of his Country, or gave it a falfe glory by fplendid 
vidories. He had a ftrong and capacious mind, 
which could eafily difcern the juft and the fit, and 
could fleer calmly the veffel of State when a more 
impetuous pilot would have dafhed her on the rocks. 
An underflanding clear and informed, a will regulat- 
ed by reafon, and never warped or corrupted by 
paflion ; with affeftions warm but not violent, fm- 
cere but not ardent ; a knowledge of the tempers 
and feelings of mankind ; and an acquaintance with 
the events of pafl: times and the hiftory of the world, 
rendered Samuel more competent for the place 
which he filled, than would thofe fhining talents 
which too often lead their poiTeflbrs to diftrefs their 
country and defolate the world, that they may pro- 
cure to themfelves the fame of victory and the glory 
of conqueft. 

Early and fmcere piety formed a ftriking trait 
in the character of Samuel. Dedicated to God 
by a pious parent, he was ftationed in the tabernacle 
from his youth. Through a long life he preferved 
the " fear of God which is the beginning of wif- 
dom," and the refped to duty which is the flrongefl: 
incentive to public virtue, and the moft powerful re- 
ftraint from a breach of truft. We find him ftriclly 
attentive to the ordinances of religion and the infti- 
tutions of divine worlhip. But we find him more 
careful of the weightier matters of the law, of the 
great duties of morality and obedience. For, he 
exprefsly declares to Saul, when he had negle6led 

fubmiflion 



vni. 



fubmiflion to the plain will of God, under pretence 
of refer ving an offering to the Lord, "to obey is 
better than facrifice, and to hearken than the fat of 



rams. 



In the prefent age of wonders, when the refults 
of the wifdom and experience of many ages arc view- 
ed as the dreams of aged and feeble infanity ; when 
nature is placed in the throne of nature's God ; and 
the religion of Christ, mild, gentle and benevo- 
lent, like its Divine Author, is reprefented as a cruel 
and ferocious fuperftition : In this age of theory 
and innovation. Religion has been confidered by fome 
men and fome nations as an Injury to fociety, and 
incompatible with the character of a good Ru- 
ler. But, when we confider the deep influence 
which Chriftianity felt in its power, has upon the 
very tempers and difpofitions of men ; how it leads 
them to fear doing wrong ever fo privately, and de- 
fire to ^P right, though no praife fhould attend 
them ; how it places us always under the eye of th^ 
Deity, and brings death and judgment near to our 
view. When we thus vjew Religion in its nature 
and effeds, we Ihall perceive it to be one of the moft 
powerful and energetic principles which can operate 
upon the human mind. This principle reaches 
where no human law nor earthly confideration can 
extend. It operates as powerfully when no eye be- 
holds it as when furroundcd by thoufands. It pen- 
etrates the heart. It governs the temper. It guides 
the condud. It fortifies us againft afflidion, and 
renders profperity more valuable and fweet. The 
Ruler who embraces the fpirit, and copies the ex- 
ample 



IX. 



ample of Christ ; who relies on the promifes, and 
15 animated by the hopes of the Gofpel, will " ferve 
his generation according to the will of God," and 
will be " received into everlafting habitations." 

When a man is under the influence of Religion, 
it will make him ftridly upright, and will lead him 
to pay a clofe attention to the great duties of juftice 
and integrity. This effea had religion upon Sam- 
uel. For many years he was a Judge among the 
People, and diftributed juftice to the aggrieved and 
opprefled. " And Samuel," fays the facred hifto- 
rian, " judged Ifrael all the days of his life, and he 
went from year to year, in circuit, to Bethel and Gil- 
galy and Mizpah^ and judged I/rael in all thofe places, 
and his return was to Rama, for there was his houfe^ 
and there he judged I/rael, and there he built an 
altar unto the Lord." His patient attention to the 
parties who Utigated, his enlightened endeavors to 
find out the truth, and his candid, impartial decifions 
according to the evidence produced, procured him 
the efteem and veneration of all, even of thofe 
whom juftice obliged him to condemn. We find 
Samuel always honored and efteemed in the nation 
of I/rael. He was received with the utmoft refped 
wherever he went. His decifions were impHcitly 
followed. " When the ear heard him, then it bleffed 
him, and when the eye faw him, then it gave witnefs 
to him." 

When he afted as Chief Maglftrate of Ifrael, he 
" approved himfelf to every man's confcience in the 
fight of God." Although his fons conduced im- 
B properly 



jJtoperly in their fubordinate capacity, yet it does not 
appear that he countenanced or fupported them, nor 
do we ever find a fingle charge of incapacity, of 
partiality or injuflice brought againft him. His 
adminiftration was eafy to himfelf and ufeful to the- 
People, and would have continued to the end of his 
Hfe, had not that love of change, which ftrongly 
marks the human character, but often defeats its own 
purpofes, led the People to deffre a King. Then 
how muft his heart have triumphed, when, with the 
firm and manly voice of dignified integrity, he could 
appeal to the aflembled tribes of Ifrael^ in this ener- 
getic language ! " Behold, here I am ; witnefs againft 
me before the Lord and before his Anointed. Whofe 
ox have I taken ? Or whofe whofe afs have I taken ? 
Or whom have I defrauded ? Whom have I oppreff- 
t'^ ? Or of whofe hand have I received any bribe to 
blind mine eyes therewith ? And I will reftore it to 
you.'* His falisfa6lion muft have been perfect, when 
the People with one heart and one voice replied, fay- 
ing, " Thou haft not defrauded us nor opprefled us, 
neither haft thou taken ought of any man's hand.** 
Happy Magiftrate ! Who was not only " approved 
of God, but accepted of the multitude of his breth- 
ren!** 

Samijel was a man of mild and gentle manners. 
When the moft direft attacks were made upon hi$ 
family, and when the People applied to him to refign 
his power, he poffeffes, perfectly, calmnefs of mind. 
We do not hear a reproachful word from him, nor 
a fmgle refleftion on the ingratitude of thofe whom 
he had fo long and fo fauthfully ferved. Mildly he 

remonftrates 



XI, 



fcmonftrates with the People upon the impiety and 
folly of their condud. He does not fuffer himfelf tp 
be affetted with the perfonal flight to him which 
their application implied. He does not alTail them 
with the afperity which flings, or the bitternefs which 
provokes. This mildnefs of manners, this patience 
of contradi£tion, is of great ufe to thofe who rule over 
men, becaufe it gives dignity to the character. It 
4ifarms refentment, and conciliates efteem. 

But with ail this mildnefs of planners the Patriarch 
o^Ifrael ftill poflefled the firmnefs and decifion which 
his religion didated, and his (lation required. When 
the Hebrews required to have a King, like the nations 
about them, Samuel did not hefitate to reprove 
them feverely for their ingratitude to God, who was 
then their kuler, and to Ihew them that they were 
enflaving thernfelves and their pofl:erity, in order to 
attain an empty pageant. Superior to the love of 
popularity, which induces a man to conceal his fenti- 
jnents or flatter a multitude, he firmly and decidedly 
proves to them that they are injuring themfelves and 
deflroying their own fecurity. So honefl and inde- 
pendent was he, as to hazard the difpleafure of the 
People and his own influence over them, rather than 
encourage them to that which was hurtful to their 
true intereft. . It was in obedience to God alone, 
that the Prophet fixed Saul on the throne ; and 
QoD gave them a King in his an^er, and took him 
%way in his wrath." 



It 



xrr. 



It was the carnefl; folicitude of the Prophet o| 
Jfrael to eftablifh fuch a conftitution of government 
as fhould guard them from the dangers which they 
had precipitately brought on themfelves. " Then 
Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, 
and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the 
Lord." He knew that fuch a precaution was nec- 
effary to prevent the Ifraclites from becoming fubjed 
to the capricious humors or tyrannical paflions of 
their King. Where the powers of Government and 
the liberties of the People are accurately defined, and 
proper checks are eftabliihed to prevent the en^ 
croachments of one upon the other, there true free- 
dom is enjoyed, and there alone man exercifes his 
rights. From this principle, the wife, the patriotic 
and the good have always exerted themfelves to form 
and to fupport definite and free Conftitutions of 
government. 

The love of God, and his country, animated this 
good man, to exert himfelf in the caufe of Religion 
and liberty. Thefe noble principles warmed his bo- 
fom, governed his mind, and regulated his whole 
conduct. A refpect to the approbation of God, 
" who hath pleafureonlyinuprightnefs," a fincerewifh 
to promote the fpiritual and temporal happinefs of 
the People, whom he loved, induced him to exert his 
utmofl energies in ferving the religious and civil in- 
terefls of his fellow-citizens. The profperity of his 
Country gave him the moft fenfible pleafure ; and 
when the clouds of adverfity inveloped it, when it 

fuffered 



XIII. 



fuffered from its own folly and rafhnefs, his joy ^as 
turned, into forrow. 

The unfuliied reputation and the faithful fervices 
of Samuel, during his life, made his death a fubjed: 
of deep regret to the people of JfraeL They loved 
him while his exiftence here was continued, and 
when the common lot of all men befel him, they 
deeply mourned the melancholy event. The tribes 
of Jfrael alTembled ; they bedewed his hearfe with 
the tears of genuine affection and gratitude, and bu- 
ried him honorably in the tomb of his anceftors. 
This is the duty which we are now called to perform. 

The charafter, briefly drawn, of Samuel in the 
paft difcourfe, fo ftrongly refembles that of oitr de- 
ceafed Friend and Governor, as that little need be 
^did in addition to it. Your own minds muil have 
piade the application. 

Endued "with ftrong and vigorous faculties of 
mind ; favoured with the advantages of a public and 
liberal education ; impreifed with a fenfeof that Re- 
ligion which forms men to virtue, kindnefs and 
charity, he was early called by his fellow-citizens to 
fill places of public truft and honor. As a Magil- 
trate, a Legiilator, and a Judge, he difcovered the 
wifdom, the firmnefs, and impartiality which are fo 
juftly celebrated in the character of the text. His 
honor and integrity were never impeached, and had 
he made the fame appeal to the People as Samuel 
did, he would have received the fame anfwer. 

Kis 



XIV. 



His wife and faithful condu£lin offices of Icfs dig* 
nity ; their confidence in his patriotifm, integrity 
and abilities, led the People of this Commonwealth 
to call him to the office of their Chief Magiftrate. 
This confidence was fully gratified. The warm 
and decided Friend of our Federal and State ConflitUr 
tions ; the warm and decided enemy of all foreign 
interference in the affairs of our government j the 
watchful Guardian of the Civil, the Judicial and the 
Military interefts of the Commonwealth, he was daily 
more and more elleemed and refpected. His ap- 
pointments were judicious, and he meant to confine 
them to men of virtue and abilities. He fupported 
the honor of the State with dignity. His own de- 
portment, while it was eafy and agreeable, while it 
difcovered the mildnefs of manners, the unafluming 
kindnefs which formed fo flriking a part of his char- 
acter, was never fuch as to diminifh our refpedl 
and efleem for him. 

Kind, charitable and good ; wilhing well to every 
one, and defirous of promoting their interefts, 
Governor Sumner was univerfally beloved an4 
honored. He was among the few men who, 
though he had many friends, warm and affectionate 
friends, yet, fo far as my knowledge has extended, 
never had a perfonal enemy. Even thofe who on 
political fubjeds differed from him, and the inter- 
efts of whofe party led them to oppofe his eledion, 
expreffed perfonal refped for him in life, and now 
profcfs deeply to lament his death. 

•f 



XV. 



This good man was a warm and decided friend t^' 
the Religion of Christ. He early profefled thi« 
Religion, and his life appeared to be formed by its 
divine and facred precepts. Thus influenced by its 
temper, and governed by its commands in life, he 
tv'as animated by its hopes, and fupported by its con- 
folations, when he came to die^ 

Shall I call upon you, my brethren, on this oc» 
cafion to admire and imitate the tender hufband, 
the wife and affedionate father, the dutiful fon, and 
the faithful friend ! The grief which rends the bo- 
foms, and the tears which fill the eyes of thofe ta 
whom he was thus related, prove the juftice of this 
part of his charafter, and difplay its amiablenefs in 
t-he mofl ftriking manner. 

And now, feeing « a Prince and a great Man has 
fallen in our I/rael this day,'* let us humbJe ourfelves 
under the divine correction ! Let us admire and 
adore thofe difpenfations of Providence which we 
cannot comprehend ! And let us learn the leiTons of 
wifdom, which an event {a folemn and affeding is 
calculated to teach us. 

His Honor, the Commander in Chief, while he 
laments the Friend, whom, with fo much harmony, 
he accompanied in the public walks of life, will hear 
the voice of Providence fpeaking loudly to him, and 
teaching him that the moll elevated flation, the moft 
affluent circumftances, and the warmefl efteem and 
affection of our friends and fellow-citizens, cannot 

fecure 



rvi. 



feciire lis from the arrefls of the King of TermTg; 
The duties, to which he is now called, are difficult 
and important. May God give him wifdom and 
grace to difcharge them ufefuUy and well ! " As his 
day is, fo let his flrength be alfo 1" And when the 
common lot of the great as well as the fmall, the 
rich as well as the poor, fhall befal him, may he,- 
like his excellent PredecelTor, leave behind him the 
** good name which is better than precious oint- 
ment.'* 

Let me call upon our Civil Fathers of the Coun- 
cil, the Senate and the Houfe of Reprefentatives, to 
contemplate the folemn fcene before us, and fee the' 
vanity of human greatnefs, the infufficiency of the 
higheft honors to " retain the fpirit in the day of 
death T* There you behold the end of all flefh !— • 
There you fee the goal at which every man, who 
runs the race of life, mufl, fooner or later, arrive ! 
- — Thence you may learn that the hour haftens when 
all thofe diftinctions, after which many men eagerly 
pant, will foonbe levelled, and become lighter in our 
view than the duft of the balance ! — Although " ye 
be called Gods," yet here you find that " ye fhall 
die like men and fall like one of the princes 1'* Re- 
member, when difcharging your important public 
truft, that the eye of God is upon you ; that " he 
has pleafure only in uprightnefs ;" and that when 
your bodies (hall lie under the cold hand of Death, 
like the beloved dufl before you, it will be of more 
importance in your view to be confcious of one a£t 
of true Religion or of public virtue, than to have 

polfeifed 



xvir. 

poIfelTed the higheft honors which man cati befto^r. 
Learn, from this affeding Providence, to be more 
diligent, a£tive and faithful in all the relations of life; 
fo that, when you fliall be gathered to the duft of 
your fathers, thofe around you may " mark the per- 
fe£b man and behold the upright, for the end of that 
man is peace !" 

With the afflided widow, the fatherlefs children, 
the bereaved fifters, and the numerous relatives and 
friends of this excellent man, we mingle our tears I 
We hold out to them, while we wiih to feel ourfelves, 
the confolations and fupports of Religion. We do 
not " mourn as thofe who are without hope." Our 
Friend is gone from us, but we trull that his unem- 
bodied fpirit now inhabits the courts of glory, and 
has become " a pillar in the temple of our God !'** 

And now behold, my brethren and fellow-citizens, 
behold how the " falhion of this world pafleth a- 
way !'* See how infufficient are the belt earthly enjoy- 
ments to fatisfy the cravings of the immortal foul, or 
to protract for a moment our exiflence in this world ! 
Learn that the faith of Christ and the difchargeof 
our duty, is the "one thing needful j" that while 
life,and health ^and reafon are granted us, they fliould 
be improved for the purpofe of preparing for another 
world by performing the duty which we owe to God 
and man in this 1 " Now is the accepted time" ! Let 
us improve it to fecure " an intereft in the better part 
which can never be taken away from us," and to pre- 
pare 
C 






pare us for the " refl: and the triumph which re* 
main to the people of God !'* 

The Religion of Christ, our guide in life, and 
our fupport in death, which regulates us in profper- 
ity and gilds our darkefl moments with light and 
comfort — This Religion teaches us to look beyond 
the grave to an heaven of infinite glory ! It teaches 
us to depofit the precious remains of our Chriftian 
friends in the duft, with " a fure and certain hope 
of their refurredion unto eternal life." Yes, my 
brethren. Death fliall not retain his dominion over 
them ! They Ihall burft afunder his iron bands ! 
They fhall awaken to a new and eternal life ! They 
ihall afcend to " their Father and our Father, to 
their God and our God ;" and " with the ran- 
fomed of the Lord (hall return and come to Zion 
with fongs and everlafling joy upon their heads i** 




